Question & AnswerQ&A (BIR REVENUE MEMORANDUM ORDER NO. 8-2014)
Presidential Decree No. 508 provides guidelines for the development and utilization of small or sub-commercial deposits of natural marsh gas or methane gas in the Philippines and grants gratuitous permits for such purposes.
The decree covers deposits not exceeding 1000 feet in depth.
No, the decree excludes deposits associated with crude oil deposits.
Any Filipino citizen of legal age, with the capacity to contract and not convicted of any offense involving moral turpitude, or any partnership or corporation duly organized under Philippine laws with at least 60% Filipino ownership can apply.
The filing fee is P20.00.
The area covered should not be more than twenty (20) hectares in a rectangular block, with the length not more than five times the width.
A permittee can hold only one (1) permit for every petroleum region at any one time.
The permit area may still be covered by a subsequent petroleum exploration concession or service contract, but no new gratuitous permit will be issued on an area already covered by an existing permit or lease.
Yes, the permittee has the right to enter private land covered by the permit to conduct work, but if access is denied, the permittee may apply for permission and post a bond pending final determination of compensation.
The permit is valid for two (2) years, renewable for another two (2) years upon compliance. If production is attained within four (4) years, it can be extended in successive two-year periods up to a maximum of fourteen (14) years.
Failure to conduct operations within one (1) year is a cause for cancellation of the permit.
The Director of Mines is authorized to assume jurisdiction, prescribe terms and conditions of permits, and carry out the provisions of the decree.
It is a light, odorless, colorless, and inflammable gaseous hydrocarbon occurring naturally as a product of decomposition of organic matter in marshes and mines.
Free Areas are lands within the Philippines excluding submerged lands under bays, lakes, rivers or lagoons, and are not part of national reserve areas, petroleum reservations, or covered by valid existing concessions or leases for petroleum.
Areas that were included in exploration or exploitation concessions but have been given up voluntarily or because of legal provisions, or those where concessions expired or were canceled, or areas exceeding maximum allowable concession size.